A Perspective Like Jesus
James 1:1-4
September 7, 2014
Well tonight you are aware that we begin a new study in the word of God.
For many of you it is a study that doesn’t need much of an introduction. James is without a doubt a fan favorite among believers.
Many times in a funeral setting and sometimes in other settings I’ll ask about a person’s favorite book in the Bible. Most of the time “James” is what I hear.
Adrian Rogers called James “The Proverbs of the New Testament”
It is easy to understand why.
James is written with a direct clarity
That makes it plain for the simplest of reader.
While James does carry his fair share of theology,
It is the practical application that jumps off the page at you,
And for that many of you already have a fondness of this book.
Now as you know, I like to take a little bit of a forest approach
To a book before we settle in and look at the individual trees.
I am convinced that you cannot understand an individual verse
If you don’t first have a grasp of the overall point.
So if you’ll allow me just a second, let’s look at the point of this letter
And then we’ll start working our way through it.
I don’t know if everyone would agree with me,
But I believe that James clearly articulates his main purpose for writing.
I believe he articulates it in the last two verses of this book.
James 5:19-20 “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”
I don’t think it is a stretch to say that this was precisely why
James also penned this letter.
He had a passion to right the ship
In James’ mind Christianity was straying off course and beginning to look like something it shouldn’t look like.
James writes with conviction to bring Christianity back to its roots.
What are the roots of Christianity?
Christ
It is clear that as James examined the Christianity of his day,
It looked far less like Christ than it should have.
James’ purpose is to return Christians
To the fundamental purpose of becoming like Christ.
And in case you are confused about this issue,
You must know that the goal for your life is that you be like Christ.
Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”
The goal of Jesus is absolutely to reproduce Himself in you.
You are to look like Christ, act like Christ, talk like Christ,
respond like Christ, and in all things be like Christ.
And any time in your life that you deviate from this objective,
Then you have entered a position of backsliddenness and sinfulness
From which you must be confronted and delivered.
James is doing just that.
He is confronting a form of Christianity that doesn’t look like Christ
And the specifics are easy to spot.
James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a lack of endurance.
So he writes:
James 1:2 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,”
James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a lack of obedience.
So he writes:
James 1:22 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a lack of sincerity.
So he writes:
James 1:27 “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a lack of mercy.
So he writes:
James 2:1 “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.”
James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a lack of fruit.
So he writes:
James 2:20 “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?”
James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a bitter tongue.
So he writes:
James 3:9-10 “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.”
James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a selfish ambition.
So he writes:
James 3:14 “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.”
James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has worldliness.
So he writes:
James 4:4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
And so you get the point.
James is seeking to restore Christianity to Christ-likeness
And might I add that James was the perfect candidate for such a task.
James was not one of the 12 disciples.
That James was martyred in Jerusalem.
The James of this letter was the half-brother of Jesus.
(He was the son of Joseph and Mary)
That means that James doesn’t base Christianity
Solely on what he has heard, but on what he has seen.
James was exposed to Jesus his whole life.
James saw Jesus in every possible situation.
And having seen Jesus live for 33 years,
James understandably had an intolerance for those
Who claimed to follow Jesus, but who did not live the same way.
For James being a Christian was not just about accurate doctrine;
For James, being a Christian was about accurate behavior.
If you were going to take the name of Jesus,
Then you had better look like Him.
James is calling false believers to genuine faith
And carnal believers to maturity.
Don’t just claim Jesus, follow Him!
Be like Him!
BE REAL!
That is what makes this letter so difficult and yet so refreshing.
Tonight we begin with James asking us to have a perspective like Jesus.
I think you will agree that Jesus could blow your mind with His perspective.
• He never fell into those fleshly traps
• He never took the bait
• He always took the high road and responded perfectly
It didn’t matter if He was being challenged, or mocked, or hated, or even crucified, He always maintained a proper perspective.
James expects nothing less from those who claim to follow Him.
So let’s begin looking at this marvelous letter.
First we see the greeting:
“James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.”
You have to love the way James describes himself.
He calls himself, not “the brother of Jesus”,
But rather “a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”
James doesn’t throw his clout or his title around,
But rather that he is merely a servant of Jesus.
He is one of those willing servants described to us in Exodus 21:5-6 who willingly submitted to the master.
That was James.
And he is writing “To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad”
This would that group known as “The Dispersia”
They were persecuted Jews who had converted to Christianity.
And James is reminding them of who they follow and of what is expected.
And without any other introduction James gets right to the point
And addresses their perspective in the midst of their suffering.
And James has three things he wants from these suffering believers.
#1 REJOICE IN PAIN
James 1:2
Here James says “Consider it all joy”
Now this is an interesting word.
The word “consider” can be a little misleading.
• He is not giving you something to consider.
• He is not saying, “Have you thought about this?”
The Greek word is HEGEOMAI (hi-gay-o-my)
It literally means “to lead the way” or “to lead before the mind”
James isn’t saying maybe you should consider being joyful,
James is saying put joy in your brain!
Grab your mind and force it to focus on joy
DO THIS!
And what makes the command from James so difficult is that
He commands you to do this when it isn’t natural.
If he told you to choose joy when you eat a good meal
Or when you have a soft bed; that would be one thing.
But he says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.”
And just for observation sake let’s make sure you understand:
• Not “if” you encounter trials, but “when” you do.
• And trials of “various” nature.
Physical, mental, spiritual, financial, social, emotional, etc.
In this life you are going to have trials.
Now that is true for all people simply because we live in a fallen sinful world, where the curse is in full operation.
But that is especially true for the believer who not only lives in a fallen world, but who is also in the cross hairs of the enemy.
Jesus said:
John 16:33 “In the world you have tribulation…”
Paul said:
2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
The prosperity gospel has for years been trying to market this idea
That following Christ should result in more prosperity and less pain.
That’s not true, the Christian can count on more pain in this world.
Face it, trials are coming.
• The normal everyday trials like sickness and death and pain that are associated with living in this world.
• And the spiritual trials of persecution and mocking and rejection that are associated with following Christ.
You will “encounter various trials”
To live your life trying to avoid them is a futile endeavor.
Now, what separates the believer from the non-believer
Is not the presence of trials, but rather the response to them.
A lost world hates trials, grows bitter under trials, curses God for the trials, and on and on and on.
But a believer is called to do the most bizarre thing.
The believer is to be like Jesus and “Consider it all joy”
Hebrews 12:2-3 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
• Jesus knew what He was facing before He ever stepped out of heaven,
but He did.
• Jesus knew what He was facing every day that He lived on this earth, but
instead of avoiding it, He embraced it, and instead of whining about it,
He rejoiced.
• And He did it “for the joy set before Him”
That is what James asks for from these suffering believers.
Anyone can be like the world when they suffer.
Anyone can moan and wine and complain and get bitter.
But the Christian must look beyond it and respond with joy.
Now this is not easy.
In fact when James says you will “encounter various trials”
The word “encounter” there is a Greek word that means “to fall into”
And it implies a certain level of unexpectedness.
Luke 10:30 “Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.”
See it is one thing for you as a believer to have a trial, take a day to moan and groan, then grow up and choose to be joyful.
But that is not what James is talking about.
He wants you to be so ready for suffering is coming,
That when it comes you are not surprised
And instead you are ready to instantly rejoice.
That makes this warning then not just for those who are presently suffering, but also for those who are not.
You need to get it in your head right now that suffering is coming
And determine to rejoice when it happens.
After all, was that not how Jesus walked this earth?
He didn’t walk around like this turtle optimist
Totally surprised when people hated Him.
He knew it was coming,
And He was prepared ahead of time to rejoice in the midst of it.
See, if we initially respond with bitterness and only eventually rejoice,
It is good that we did eventually rejoice,
But we still had failure in our initial response.
James wants you to look like Jesus all the time, not just eventually.
So Rejoice in Pain, and be ready to do so ahead of time.
#2 REMEMBER THE PURPOSE
James 1:3
Here is why you can and should rejoice.
“knowing”
In the Greek GKNOSKO which is a word that means “full understanding”
“knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”
These trials that will inevitably come are certainly meant by the enemy to destroy you, but God causes all things to work together for good.
• God uses them to produce “endurance”
• God uses them to make you more like Jesus
• God uses them to continue the work of your sanctification.
My mom loves the hymn “How Firm A Foundation”
“The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design, thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine”
And let’s just face it without endurance you cannot be like Jesus.
Jesus was a model of endurance wasn’t He?
Let me read it again:
Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
“endured the cross”
If we don’t have “endurance” we cannot be like Jesus.
And here is the kicker
YOU CANNOT LEARN ENDURANCE IN A WEEKEND COURSE
You cannot gain endurance through a drive-through-window.
Endurance is like stamina
There is no pill that makes you able to run a marathon,
You have to work and train and run and run and run and build it up.
So it is with endurance, it has to be built, it has to be constructed
And it is produced by walking through trials.
And James says you need to KNOW that.
TURN TO: Hebrews 12:3-17
If you grow weary and lose heart
It is because you have “forgotten” the purpose of trials.
They are not to harm you, they are to perfect you.
It is not punishment discipline, it is necessary discipline.
It is like when I used to play football many moons ago.
At the end of each practice we had to run “gassers”
Now sure gassers could be used as punishment, but we were going to run them whether we did wrong or not.
They were necessary so that we would be able to compete late in the game.
We were being conditioned.
That is what “discipline” means here.
It isn’t necessarily punishment, it’s just necessary hardening
And if God didn’t give it to you, that would mean He didn’t love you.
If you shelter your kids from every possible hardship or pain
And don’t ever put them in difficult circumstances
You are doing them a major disservice for life.
You may buy their affection by keeping them in the lap of luxury,
But that isn’t loving them, it is crippling them.
And God loves you too much to cripple you.
Now is discipline pleasant? No (VERSE 11), but it is necessary.
What we have to do is gain an understanding
As to why God is putting us through it.
It is not to harm you, it is to prepare you.
So, embrace it
(VERSES 12-17)
Don’t be like Esau who traded the future for a comfortable present.
That would be horrible!
Embrace the hardship, endure the hardship, rejoice at the hardship, because God is giving you what you need
To prepare you for where you are going.
• He will not leave you unprepared
• He will not let you go untrained
• He will make sure you are disciplined and ready
• He will make you like Jesus
Remember that purpose
We have been on several mission trips, and each time we go I feel an enormous burden to make sure everyone who goes is “ready” to go.
• Those who have been will tell you, in many ways I put them through the ringer.
• I make you read more than you want to read
• I make you talk more than you want to talk
• I make you meet more than you want to meet
• I make you pray more than you want to pray
• I make you do more than you want to do
Because I refuse to let you go without doing everything in my power
To prepare you for the trip (and I’m limited in my understanding)
But God knows all, He knows what you have ahead of you,
And the trials He will walk you through
Are only for the purpose of preparing you for what’s ahead.
He is making you like Jesus!
KNOW THAT
So Rejoice in Pain, Remember the Purpose
#3 RESOLVE TO BE PERFECT
James 1:4
In other words, determine that instead of fighting God
You are going to embrace His purpose as well.
When the coach makes you run gassers get behind what he is doing and run them hard so that you can achieve the goals he has set for you.
That is what James means;
“And let endurance have its perfect result”
• Don’t fight it
• Don’t resist it
• Don’t quit
• Endure
• Endure joyfully
• Endure knowing that God is preparing you
And in case you fail to see the finish line, James spells it out for you.
“so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
“perfect” is a word that means “fully developed”
It doesn’t mean sinless or morally flawless,
It just means you are fully matured, fully prepared, fully capable.
God wants to mature you and make you “perfect”
“complete” is a word that means “to be whole”
And in case you don’t understand that,
James says, “lacking in nothing.”
Listen, God’s goal suffering is not to harm you, it’s not to ruin you,
It’s to complete you, make you perfect, make you like Christ.
1 Peter 5:10 “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”
That’s what God is doing,
Now why don’t you get on board and strive for the same things.
“let” it happen.
“let endurance have its perfect result”
• Set your mind not to resist God’s work
• And certainly not to complain about God’s work
• BUT RATHER TO JOIN GOD IN HIS WORK.
Suffering is coming whether you want it to or not,
Because God loves you and He’s going to prepare you.
You embrace it, rejoice in it, remember the purpose for it, consent to it.
That is how Jesus walked.
Hebrews 5:8 “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”
That is a tough verse to handle, especially since Jesus was omniscient,
But God used suffering in His life to make Him who He needed to be.
Why did Jesus have to learn suffering?
Hebrews 2:18 “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
It’s hard to be a compassionate support to someone who suffers
If you’ve never suffered.
He knew what God was doing.
He was perfecting the author of our salvation with suffering.
And Jesus didn’t resist it
• He embraced it.
• He rejoiced in it.
• He consented to it.
• He resolved to let it work in His life.
John 12:27-28 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
You get the feeling that James looked out over these suffering believers
And heard them bickering and complaining and whining.
As he heard them griping to God asking
“Why would you do this?”, “How could You let this happen?”
As he watched them trying to quit and give in.
James sat down and penned this letter and said, “If you’re going to take the name of Jesus on your back then you had better start living like Jesus.”
Your attitude is backward and sinful,
And I want to remind you how Jesus lived.
So when suffering comes
• Rejoice in it
• Remember why it is necessary
• And Resolve to see it produce in you all that God intends
That is good advice
And it is a good reminder to each of us.
